Absolutely
by twilightist
Summary: When a stranger confronts Bella at her job, she dismisses him as just another guy trying to hit on her. What happens when Bella meets this stranger in the last place she expects? Can she let go of rules and live life to its fullest? AU/AH/Slightly OOC.
1. Prologue

**A/N: This is my first fanfic. I am not a writer; I was just listening to Absolutely (Story of a girl) by Nine Days, which I stole the title from, and felt like writing a Twilight fanfic. If anyone does read this story, I just want to say I don't know when I will be updating. There probably won't be much of a plot; this is really just for fun and to take my mind off of real life. Constructive criticism is appreciated.**

**Disclaimer: Everything related to Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I just decided to mess with her characters.**

* * *

**Prologue**

Today is September 13th, which means it is my 21st birthday. I should be excited, I should want to celebrate by going out to a club and getting wasted, which is what any normal 21 year old would want to do, right? Wrong. All I want to do is get out of work, go home, eat some dinner and fall asleep.

But knowing my best friend and roommate, Alice Cullen, that's probably not going to happen. I don't expect anything spectacular, I'm hoping for nothing at all, but you could always bet on Alice to have some kind of shindig planned.

I only met Alice last year during my second year of college. We had hit it off great though.

At first glance Alice and I wouldn't seem like two people who would be friends. Alice is a beautiful, petite, barely 5 foot tall girl, with short spiky black hair to match her pixie-like demeanor. And even though I consider myself pretty, I know that I'm nowhere near above average, standing at 5'4, with plain brown hair and brown eyes. Nothing special.

But Alice was really a great person. She was the best friends I could ever ask for.

So, after each of us spending two years living in the school dorms, Alice and I decided that since we had become such great friends that we should move in together and rent an apartment not too far from campus.

I loved living with Alice, it's much better than living with complete strangers in a tiny dorm.

Anyway, back to reality.

It is 6:30 in the evening and work ends in an hour and a half. See, I work at the university library, surrounding by what I love most. Books.

I am majoring in English at the University of Washington and I figured a job in the library would be good for me. I only started working here this semester, and so far I like it. Unfortunately it can get a little dull sometimes.

I was just sitting behind the front desk checking out books for people, not really paying attention, when I heard a velvety voice ask "Don't I know you from somewhere?"

I looked up into a pair of sparkling green eyes, and lost all coherent thought for a few seconds.

_Speak Bella!_ He must have thought there was something wrong with me.

"Um no, I don't think you do."

"I could swear I've seen you before," he said.

"I don't think so."

Now even though this guy was good looking – ok who am I kidding, he was stunning, with those amazing eyes, messy bronze colored hair, and what I could only imagine was a great body – I just wasn't interested in any kind of relationship right now, and I definitely wasn't interested in any guy who would try to hit on me at work.

I had decided before I started college, that I would make school my priority and take a break from dating anyone. A long break.

He stared at me for a few more seconds with a confused look on his face and then picking up his checked out book said, "Yea ok, I guess you're right."

Then he was gone.

**--**

I left the library, climbed into my old Chevy truck, and drove home to the comfortable apartment I shared with Alice.

The whole way there I could only think about one thing; the stranger with the piercing green eyes.

When I got to the door of the apartment I hesitated. I had a feeling of what was on the other side of the door, and I couldn't see a way to avoid it.

If I just walked away and waited until I was sure it was safe to go home, and to bed, Alice would call me wondering where I was, then she would no doubt come find me and drag me back to the apartment by the hair.

So instead of running away, I faced my fears, turned the lock and opened the door.

"SURPRISE!"

* * *

**A/N: So reviews would be cool. I'll try to update with Chap. 1 ASAP. Maybe a day or two. I make no promises, sorry. **

**I'm sorry for any errors in grammar or spelling. Don't hesitate to point out anything that's wrong. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. More Than One Surprise

**A/N: Hasn't it been a great Tuesday? We finally get a good 'Twilight Tuesday', then a bunch of new movie pictures (I can't stop staring at the one of Bella & Edward dancing at prom D ) and the new trailer is only 2 days away. I feel so happy.**

**Ok I know I pretty much said not to expect an update right away, but I can't get this story out of my head now. I've been thinking about what I can write all day.**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Also all the people who added this to their story alerts and fav story! When I got home today and saw the amount of emails I had, I almost cried tears of joy. Maybe thats a bit dramatic, but I sure as hell was happy.**

**I hope you all like this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Everything related to Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I just decided to mess with her characters.**

* * *

**More Than One Surprise**

I didn't even have one foot in the door before some small object collided with my body and wrapped me up in a bone-crushing hug.

"Alice, too tight," I barely breathed out.

"Oh sorry," she said while letting go. "Happy Birthday!"

"Thank you Alice."

"Were you surprised?" she asked with a huge grin on her face.

"Of course I was."

I couldn't let her know that I had had a pretty good idea of what she was planning. It was in my nature to put other people's feeling, especially my friends', before my own.

I looked over the top of Alice's head and saw that there were about 15 other people in the apartment, most of who had started up their pervious conversations while Alice had tried to crush me. At least Alice hadn't gone overboard with the invites. She had just invited a few of my friends I had classes with, like Jessica, Tyler, Eric, and Angela.

And another good thing was that I didn't see any gifts. The thing I hated most about birthdays was people giving me gifts, and Alice knew that.

"Good, I have been planning this party for weeks. I'm glad the surprise wasn't ruined, you know how I hate to keep any secrets from you," Alice said.

"Thanks for all the effort Alice, but I really wish you hadn't done all of this. You know that I don't like to do anything big for my birthdays. It could have just been you and me sitting on the couch watching a movie and I would have been happy."

"Are you crazy? You're 21 Bella! You only turn 21 once; of course we had to celebrate. You're just lucky that I was sympathetic enough not to rent out a club and throw you the biggest birthday party this town has seen in a long time."

"Okay Alice, thank you for throwing me a _small _surprise party," I said to her, knowing that she probably wasn't kidding about renting a club.

I looked up from Alice and saw a gorgeous blond woman walking over towards us.

"Rosalie!" I said while embracing her in a hug.

"Happy Birthday Bella."

"Oh I'm so glad you're here."

"Why wouldn't I be here? Alice called and said she was throwing you a party, and I'll be damned if I was going to miss my favorite cousin's 21st birthday."

"Where's Jasper?"

"Right here," said a deep, gentle voice from behind Rosalie.

Jasper stepped out from behind Rose, gave me a hug and wished me a happy birthday.

"It's so good to see both of you," I said.

Rosalie and Jasper Hale were my twin cousins. They both had beautiful honey-blond hair and bright blue eyes. We had practically grown up together in Phoenix, and I had missed them so much when I moved to Forks. When Jasper decided to continue studying Psychology at UW, Rose had picked up and moved with him, saying that she could be a personal shopper anywhere. They had only been in Washington for little over a month, and with Jasper so busy because of school and Rose looking for a job and her own apartment, I haven't been able to see them too often.

"How's the job hunt coming along?" I ask Rosalie.

"Ugh, I thought it would be easier to find work in a city like Seattle, but apparently I was wrong. Oh, but I think I have found the perfect apartment," she told me with a smile on her face.

Shaking his head, Jasper said, "I still don't understand why you need your own place. I don't mind you living with me."

"We've been over this a hundred times Jasper. It's not that I don't want to live with you. I just feel like it's time for me to really live on my own. Besides you aren't going to want me around when you find some pretty little thing to bring home," Rose said with a smirk.

Jasper only replied with a "hmph".

"Well I think it's great that you've found an apartment," I said.

Alice had walked into the kitchen while I was talking to Rosalie and Jasper. She came back with two drinks and handed me one.

I took a sip and immediately noticed that there was something wrong with the taste of the coke.

"Alice, what did you put in here?" I looked at her through narrowed eyes. I already knew what she was planning to on, and I did not what any part of it.

"It's just a little rum. You're _supposed _to drink on your 21st birthday," she said with an all too innocent look on her face.

"Yea well, this is my first and last drink of the night."

She just shrugged. "Okay."

This wasn't my first time drinking alcohol. In fact the last time I drank, it didn't end to well. Let's just say that drinking is another thing I thought best to take a break from. My natural clumsiness plus alcohol equals big mistake.

Alice started to walk away from me, but turned around and said, "Oh, I invited my brothers, if that's okay. I thought it would be good for the two of them to take a break for once and have a little fun."

"That's great. Where are they?"

"Late as usual. They should be here soon enough," and with that Alice left me to go speak with some of our guests.

Of Alice's two brothers, I had only met Emmett, the eldest of the three siblings. With the help of his parents, Emmett had opened up his own car shop, which he named Cullen Customs, and as a result was quite busy keeping up the business during its first year. Alice told me that her other brother, Edward, was too absorbed in school too have much of a social life. So I'll finally get to meet him tonight and if he is anything like Alice and Emmett I know I'll like him right away.

Almost an hour later, while I was talking to Angela and her boyfriend Ben, I heard the door bell ring. I excused myself and went to answer the door.

I opened the door and saw Emmett standing there with a big smile on his face.

"Did someone order a male stripper?" he asked in his booming voice.

"No" I laughed.

He walked into the apartment and gave me a big hug. If Alice was an evil-pixie, then Emmett was a teddy bear. And even though I had only seen him maybe half a dozen times, I already thought of him as the big brother I never had.

When he stepped back he handed a giant bottle of vodka with a bow on top and said happy birthday.

"Thanks a lot Emmett. This is just what I needed."

"No problem," he said with the same wicked grin Alice had.

Alice came over to us, said hi to Emmett and asked him where Edward was.

"He's parking the car; he'll be here in a minute."

Alice took Emmett to mingle with everyone else, while I went to put the monster bottle of vodka in the freezer.

I walked back over to Alice and she gave me another drink. I took it without complaint this time.

_I'm at home, surrounded by friends. What's the worst that could happen?_

I was talking to Rose when I heard Alice call out my name.

I turned around and was met by those same damn green eyes that I had been thinking about in the back of my mind all night long.

"You…w-what are you…?"

"Hi," was all he said.

Then Alice spoke up.

"You two know each other?"

"This guy was trying to hit on me at work today," I said to her.

"This _guy_ is my brother, Edward," Alice told me with a somewhat amused expression. "Edward, this is Bella. It's her birthday today."

"Happy Birthday," Edward quietly said.

This man – the same man with the silky voice and amazing eyes, who I automatically assumed was hitting on me at my job – was Edward? Alice's brother?

_Maybe I should rethink the whole no dating idea. God knows I would for _him_._

No. I can't let almost three years of sticking to my no relationships plan go down the drain. Not even for this man. Not even if he _was_ the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.

Definitely not.

"Umm, thank you. Excuse me I'll be right back."

Talk about surprises.

I almost ran into the kitchen. I got to the freezer, pulled out Vodkazilla, and poured myself a shot.

--

About three or four shots later – okay maybe more, I couldn't remember – I was sitting on the couch, feeling more than slightly buzzed.

I was vaguely aware of the people around me. Emmett and Rosalie were sitting near me, but I wasn't paying any attention to what they were talking about. Last I heard they were having a contest between each other to see who could come up with the best, or worst, pick-up line.

Alice came over and sat down on the couch opposite of me. Jasper sat down next to her. They were talking, but about what I had no idea.

"Hi again."

I frowned. _His voice shouldn't sound so familiar._

Edward sat down next to me, our thighs almost touching.

"I just wanted to tell you that I wasn't trying to hit on you today," he started. "I really did know you from somewhere. I just couldn't remember where I had seen your face before. But when I got here and saw that you were the friend Alice was throwing this party for, that you're her roommate, I remembered seeing the pictures of you that Alice had shown me a while ago."

So, he wasn't hitting on me. I should have known that a guy like him would never go for a girl like me.

"So, I apologize if I came off as a creeper earlier. I was genuinely confused about if I knew you or not." He gave a little chuckle at the end and I nearly melted in my seat.

What I wouldn't give to hear him laugh again.

"No, it's okay. I shouldn't have assumed that you were hitting on me," I slurred, shaking my head a bit woozily.

I turned towards him and smiled.

He flashed me a magnificent lopsided-grin, full of sparkling white teeth.

I was completely dazzled by him.

_Whoa. I must be very drunk to use a word like dazzle._

I swayed a little, my heavy-lidded eyes half closed.

"Are you alright Bella? I-I think you might've had a little too much to drink," he told me in that smooth voice.

"I think you're beautiful," I replied.

The last thing I remembered was seeing the worry in his green eyes.

* * *

**A/N: Hope that was okay? I'm not going to be one of those authors that threatens not to update unless I get reviews, but reviews _are_ nice to get :) You could say that you like the story so far, or you hate it, or just say hi, or point out mistakes. I'd be happy with anything.**

**This time I'm really not sure when the next update will be since I have a lot of math homework that I have been neglecting :\ . But don't worry the next chap. should be up within the week.**

**Thanks again for reading!**


	3. Lucky Charms

**A/N: So how amazing has this week been? Was it not the best week in Twilight history or what? And the trailer! Don't even get me started on that. What's better than amazing? Incredible? Marvelous? I just loved the trailer. And that kiss was HOT! :D**

**To everyone who reviewed: you guys are great! I can't even describe how good it feels to see that people are actually reading this crap that I write and you like it.**

**Anyway here's the next chapter. I'm pretty much just making this all up as I go along.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I just fantasize about Edward Cullen, but who doesn't?**

* * *

**Lucky Charms**

The next thing I knew, I was waking up to a way too bright light shining in through my window. Not to mention a burning headache.

I opened one eye and found that I was still in my clothes from the night before. I got out of bed and changed into an old t-shirt and sweat pants, then went out into the hall and followed the scent of fresh coffee into the kitchen.

When I got there I saw Alice standing in front of the counter already dressed for the day.

"Well good morning, party girl," she said while turning around with two cups of coffee in her hands.

I went to sit down at the table and she handed me a cup. She then went to the refrigerator and came back with a lemon.

"Here, squeeze the juice into the coffee and don't use any sweeteners or milk."

She handed me the lemon. I looked at her skeptically, "This is supposed to help?"

"Yes, it's an old hangover remedy that my dad taught me. Trust me it helps."

I squeezed the lemon and a few seeds fell into the coffee. I took a sip from the steaming cup and faintly recognized the sour taste of the lemon in the black coffee.

"So what time did the party end last night? I don't remember much of what happened after all those shots I had."

Alice took a swig of coffee from her cup. "I figured I'd call it a night when I saw you passed out with your head in my brother's lap," she said with a smile.

_Oh no. I knew the vodka was a bad idea._

"Ugh, that's all that happened right?" I asked feeling nervous just thinking about what could have and might have happened.

"Well you might have mumbled a few incoherent words in your sleep."

"Like?"

"Like, 'amazing' and 'creeper' and 'dazzle' and Edward's name…."

Alice just smiled at me while I processed how much of a fool I'd made of myself.

"How did I wind up in my room if I was passed out?" I asked anxiously.

"I had Edward carry you to your room."

I groaned and covered my face with my hands. It could have been worse, but it was still embarrassing.

"You know, Edward's single," she told me.

"Probably for good reason," I murmured.

_What woman on this earth could possibly be good enough for Edward Cullen? Not me that's for sure._

I looked at Alice then and she was still smiling. "I could talk to him, if you want."

"No Alice. Thank you, but you know that I don't want to date anyone while I'm in school."

"Oh, when are you going to give up on that ridiculous idea of yours, that you can't go to school and have a relationship at the same time?" she scowled at me.

"I just think school is more important for my future," I said looking down at the table.

"Bella," she said quietly. "Not _everything_ should revolve around education. You have to live your life sometimes. One date wouldn't hurt. But you're right; I won't push you to do anything that you don't want to do."

I looked up at her and she gave me a small smile.

"Thank you Alice, but I'm okay."

"Okay," she replied.

After a few moments of quietly drinking our coffees, Alice suddenly got up from the table saying, "Oh! I almost forgot." And she ran into her room.

_Okay…._

I had picked up the newspaper that was sitting on the table and started reading the article on the front page when a small square box wrapped in shiny silver paper was placed in front of me.

"I thought I'd wait until after the party to give it to you."

"Damn and I thought I had escaped all the gifts this year," I frowned. I didn't like people to buy me presents, but I wasn't going to tell Alice to return whatever it was, and she knew it.

"Open it already," she said, excited.

I peeled back the wrapping paper to find a black velvet box. I opened the box and pulled out a tarnished silver charm bracelet with a book charm, moon charm and newer looking silver "B" charm hanging on it.

"I saw it while I was shopping in a vintage shop and thought you would like it. It already had the book and moon charms, but I thought it needed something else so I also bought the B. Now you have lucky charms."

"Wow, Alice it's beautiful. Thank you," I stood up from my chair and gave her a hug.

She helped me put the bracelet on and told me she was going shopping and that the only reason she wasn't dragging me along was because I still had a pretty bad hangover. She also mentioned that she was going on a date later that night but when I asked who with, all she said was, "Just some guy I met."

After Alice left I went back to my room to spend the rest of the day finishing an essay that I had started earlier in the week.

--

The next afternoon I went back to the apartment after my last class and saw that Alice was in the living room watching TV.

"Hey Alice," I greeted her.

"Hi."

I went to put my things in my room and came back out to sit with Alice.

"So how was the date last night?" I questioned her.

She smiled and her eyes looked like they had taken on a dazed quality.

"It was great, really great. I like this guy a lot."

"Are you ever going to tell me who he is?"

"You'll find out soon enough. Patience is a virtue, Bella."

I laughed. Alice was one to talk about Patience. She never wanted to wait for anything. But I didn't bother her anymore for answers. She would tell me when she was ready.

Alice's phone rang then.

"Hello?" She paused for a few seconds.

"Yea, sure I'd love to. Okay see you there. Bye."

"What's going on," I asked her.

"That was Edward asking if I wanted to have lunch with him."

"Oh."

"Do you want to come? It's just lunch."

"No that's okay, I don't want to intrude on your brother and sister bonding," I rambled on. "Besides I was just going to heat up some of that left over Chinese food for lunch. Someone has to eat it."

She glared at me a little. "Bella, it is just _lunch_. Come with me. I'm not going to let you eat old Chinese food."

I rolled my eyes. "If you insist."

"I insist."

We hoped into Alice's cute –and by cute I mean extremely expensive – yellow Porsche and drove to the pizza place that Edward choose.

When we got to the restaurant I followed behind Alice to a table that Edward was already sitting at.

"Hey Ali," Edward said to his sister even though he was looking at me with a surprised look on his face.

_I knew I shouldn't have come._

"Hi Bella," he said to me.

"Hi Edward. I hope its okay that Alice invited me. You probably just wanted to have lunch with her."

He was still staring at me with that surprised look. Then he shook his head a little as if trying to clear it. "No, no. It's fine, really. I'm glad she invited you." He smiled and I vaguely remembered the same smile from the other night at the party.

We ordered a medium meat lovers pizza for the three of us to share. Edward had guaranteed us that this restaurant made one of the best pizzas in town.

And he was right. The pizza was delicious. The only problem was that I couldn't fully enjoy it like I wanted too because I couldn't keep my eyes from wandering to Edward every couple of minutes.

His face, his eyes, his hair, his perfect pouty lips that looked a hundred times more appetizing than the piece of pizza sitting in front of me.

Maybe Alice was right. Maybe I should slow down and enjoy the perks of being in a relationship. But once again, why would Edward want someone like me, when he could have anyone he wanted? He could never want me like I wanted him in this moment.

I looked up from under my eyelashes and saw that Edward was looking at me over the piece of pizza he was holding. His piercing emerald eyes seemed to bore right through me. I felt so vulnerable to him right then. It was as if that just by looking into his eyes, I was giving away all of my secrets.

Neither of us looked away until the waitress came over and asked how everything was.

I saw something flash through his eyes before he turned his gaze towards her and asked for the check. It looked like annoyance, or something close to it.

_Great, now I annoyed him?_

I offered to pay for my part of the meal, but he insisted on paying for everything. Like the great sister she was, Alice just let him pay.

Alice and I said goodbye to Edward in the parking lot, but as we were walking towards the Porsche Edward called out, "Hey! Wait."

I turned around and saw Edward jogging over to us.

"Bella, I wanted to ask you something."

"I'll just go start the car," Alice said, excusing herself.

I looked back to Edward. "What did you want to ask me?"

"Um, I know you don't, um, like getting hit on or anything, but um, I was just wondering if you, um, want to go out next Saturday and have dinner or something, whatever you want?" he stuttered.

_Wait...what just happened? Did he just ask me out? He's waiting for an answer Bella!_

"Well I work Saturday night…."

"Oh, I see. That's okay, maybe some other time right?" He started to walk away again.

_No! Say something! Stop him!_

"But I only work until eight," I said loud enough so he could hear me. "So we can do something afterwards, if you want."

He turned back around and smiled. "Yea, that would be great. Um, so how about I pick you up at nine? And we can have a late dinner?

"That sounds good."

"Okay good. So I'll see you on Saturday then," he said, his smile taking up his entire face.

"Right, Saturday," I replied.

"See you, Bella."

"See you."

I climbed into Alice's car and looked down at my wrist and the charm bracelet she had given me.

_May they really are lucky charms._ Edward's seemingly sudden interest in me could only be explained by luck, right?

"So, what was that about," Alice asked me.

I had forgotten that she was there. I was too stunned by what had just occurred.

"He asked me out."

"And what did you say?"

"Yes."

"What happened to your 'no dating' rule?" she quipped.

"I just…couldn't say no."

She laughed and smiled.

_How do you say no to a God like Edward?_

* * *

**A/N: Reviews please? Thank you ! :) **

**Now I'm off to watch the trailer one more time before I go to sleep, since it's 2:25 in the morning here.**

**As always, thanks for reading!**


	4. Waiting and the Strange

**I'm sorry I haven't updated in more than a week. School has been hectic. **

**Thanks once again to everyone who reviewed, you guys keep me writing.**

**Enjoy.**

**I'm always forgetting the disclaimer :P**

**Disclaimer: Everything related to Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I just decided to mess with her characters.**

* * *

**Waiting and the Strange**

Time was passing by at such a sluggish pace; it was starting to drive me crazy. A minute felt like an hour, an hour like a day, a day like a week. It was insane.

Saturday couldn't be further away.

I was so excited for my date with Edward. And I was so nervous.

I had no idea where he was taking me, or what to wear, or what to say to him when the time came.

Thankfully I had Alice to help me out with the clothes, and if I needed more help I could always ask Rosalie too. Maybe I could even get Alice to ask Edward where we were going.

Then there was the problem of talking to him. I couldn't very well sit in a restaurant with him and not say one word. It was just that I haven't been on a date in three years and I really didn't know what to do anymore. Hopefully he would just strike up a conversation and we would go from there.

But all that would be happening on Saturday and it was only Thursday afternoon and here I was sitting with Rosalie in a coffee shop promising her that I would help her move into her new apartment in about two weeks.

"Are you sure Bella? You know I have a ton of things," Rose told me.

_Yea like shoes, shoes, and more shoes. Oh and clothes._

"Yes Rose, of course I'll help you move. Besides I want to see this fabulous apartment of yours."

Rosalie had found a small but quaint, according to her, one bedroom apartment just a few miles from the university. She was ecstatic that she had found a place close enough so that she could still see Jasper and I regularly. And even though she was still looking for a job, she had enough money saved up to hold her for a while.

"Okay thank you. I think the five of us will be able to handle all of my things."

"The five of us?" I asked her. "Who's the fifth person?"

_I was helping her, Jasper was of course going to help, and Alice agreed to help too. So who else did Rose know…?_

"Oh, well," she hesitated. "Um, Alice's brother Emmett offered to help. When we were talking at the party I told him that I would probably be moving soon, and he said to tell him when and he would be happy to help me move." She looked away from me and I could see a light blush on her cheeks.

"Okay. The more people the merrier I guess."

I left Rosalie a little while later and headed to work.

While standing on a stepstool putting books away, I heard someone call out, "Hey!"

His voice startled me so much that I nearly fell off of the stool.

"Jasper! What the hell is wrong with you? You scared me half to death." I turned around and saw my cousin standing there with a stupid looking grin on his face.

"Sorry," he laughed. "I saw you and thought I would say hi to my favorite cousin."

"I'm your only cousin," I said rolling my eyes and shaking my head at him.

"Yea well, that makes you my favorite doesn't it?"

"Mmm hmm."

"Aren't you usually at the counter checking out books?"

"Tonight I had to reshelf the books. What are you doing here?" I questioned him.

"It is the university library. And I needed to find some books for an essay I'm writing."

"Oh."

He stayed with me for a little while longer, telling me about Rose's apartment, and how he was doing in school. After that he told me he had to get home and start on that essay, but as he was leaving he said something to me that I definitely wasn't expecting.

"Hey, tell Alice I said hi. Thanks Bells."

_Um okay. I don't know where that came from, but whatever._

There was a small smile playing on the edges of Jasper's lips as he left and the look in his eyes seemed to be far away, as if he was remembering something. I vaguely recalled Alice and Jasper talking at the party, but I thought Alice was just being a good host, friendly. I knew that Alice had dated some mystery man, and I didn't have the heart to tell Jasper that she was already seeing someone. Maybe I was just imaging things and Jasper just wanted to be nice to my roommate.

I decided to leave it be.

That was how my Thursday ended.

Friday was much the same, only it seemed even longer than the day before.

I went to school, and then went to work for my early shift. When I got home Alice was there. I had told her yesterday after work what Jasper said and all she did was smile and reply with a, "Oh that's nice."

I noticed how the people around me just kept getting stranger and stranger. First, Alice was going out with some guy who she wouldn't even tell me his name, and that's never happened before. Usually she would be all over excited about the guys she dated and would want to show them off. Then, Rosalie was shy when she was talking about Emmett, and I don't think I have ever seen Rose shy about _anything._ And now, Jasper was just randomly telling me to say hi to a girl that he hardly knew.

_And I always thought Jasper was the shy twin._

Alice and I were talking and when she brought up Edward and how happy she was that he had asked me out, I remembered my frustration with how slowly time was moving and also my anxiety of seeing Edward again the following day.

"I don't think he's been out on a date in two years. He never goes out anymore, not even with Emmett. He's just so wrapped up in school. I was starting to get really worried about him, but what could I do? Kidnap him and force him to do something other than study?" she sighed. "He just threw himself into to school after the last girl he dated. She devastated him. That bitch."

Alice hardly ever cursed. That girl must have really hurt Edward.

"What did she do to him?" I asked quietly.

"_Tanya. _She cheated on him," Alice said with a disgusted look on her face, "With his roommate at the time, James, who he already despised. He walked in on them in his dorm. That was the year before he and Emmett moved in together."

_Yea this girl was a bitch._

"They were high school sweethearts. Ever since then he's given up on dating and having any kind of social life. He must really like you to have asked you out. And I'm so glad he did. At least I know who you are, and I know that he made a great choice." She smiled at me and I smiled back trying to hide the nerves.

Now I had to live up to both of their expectations. I couldn't let Alice down because she was my best friend. And I didn't want to letdown Edward because I liked him to much already, and he might just be the best thing that's happened to me in a long time.

Edward and I didn't sound so different. Neither of us had dated anyone in a long while – although he didn't because he had been broken by some whore and I didn't just because I didn't want any distractions from school – and we were both very into our studies.

_That reminds me…._

"Hey Alice, what is Edward studying?"

"Law. He's always wanted to be a lawyer, even though Dad always pushed him to be a doctor just like him." Alice rolled her eyes.

_Wow a lawyer. I guess that's why he's so busy with school._

"So do you know where you guys are going?" Alice asked after a few silent moments.

"No. I was actually hoping Edward might have told you."

She chuckled, "Edward never tells me anything. If I want to know something, most of the time I have to beat it out of him."

I laughed too. That sounds like Alice.

"Well I was also hoping you could help me with picking an outfit to wear. You know my sense of style isn't as good as yours," I flattered her.

"Oh I know darling, I know. You are a fashion tragedy," she joked. "Of course, I'm glad to be of service. That's what I'm here for right? I'm your fashion fairy."

_Evil little pixie is more like it._ I smiled to myself.

--

Edward and I were sitting across from each other in a little Italian restaurant. I was picking at my mushroom ravioli and Edward was telling me about some forty year old murder case that he was researching, when out of nowhere I saw some modelesque strawberry blond walking towards our table.

She wasn't nearly as gorgeous as Rosalie, but I still felt my self-esteem drop ten points just by looking at her.

She walked right up to Edward and placed her hand on his shoulder. I immediately felt possessive of him. He was _mine,_ this was _our_ first date. Why the hell would some women just come up and touch him like that in front of me?!

Edward looked up at her with a surprised expression. "Tanya. What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry Eddy. I knew James was a bastard, but when I had come looking for you, he was there and it just happened. Can you forgive me?" she said in a sickly sweet voice, batting her eyelashes.

I turned to Edward with shock written across my face. He looked to me, then back at Tanya. He stood up from his seat and said, "Of course Tanya. I've been waiting this whole time for you to come back to me."

Then he kissed her and I caught a glimpse of his tongue in her mouth and I almost threw up right there. They walked away with their arms around each other's waists, not even bothering to say another word.

I was so stunned I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.

I didn't _want _to.

I woke up then to my alarm beeping. My body was covered in sweat and my head was killing me.

_Thank God it was just a dream._ It had seemed so damn real.

I looked at the clock. It was ten o'clock.

I got out of my bed and took a shower to calm myself.

When I was dressed I found Alice eating some cereal at the kitchen table.

"Ugh Alice, I had the strangest, most awful nightmare. I dreamed that Edward and I were on our date and Tanya came and took him away. And the worst part is that he went willingly."

"Oh Bella. Why are so nervous? You guys will get along great. You're not helping yourself by worrying so much. You're going to make yourself sick."

"I know. You're right Alice."

"Come on; let's go find you the prefect outfit." She got up and took me by the arm back into my room.

After about half an hour of putting on and taking off different clothes, I heard my phone buzzing on my dresser.

I went over to it and looked at the number. It was Edward.

_He's probably calling to cancel our date. I knew that dream was a sign._

I answered the phone trying to sound as composed as possible. "Hello?"

"Bella. Hey."

"Hi Edward. What's going on?" I braced myself for the letdown.

"Nothing, I just wanted to make sure I was picking you up at your place at nine tonight."

I was so relieved that my tensed legs nearly gave out and I almost fell to the floor. I heard Alice laughing behind me.

All I could say was, "Yea, nine. I can't wait."

_I can't wait? What the hell is wrong with me?_ I was starting to feel like I lost control over what came out of my mouth whenever I was talking to him.

I could hear a smile in voice when he spoke. "Okay. I'll be there at nine on the dot. See you then. Bye Bella."

"Goodbye Edward." I pressed the end button.

"What did he want?" Alice asked, still giggling at me.

"He just wanted to make sure we were still on for tonight."

"Just like Edward. Always double checking everything," she muttered.

Another hour went by of mixing and matching my clothes and some of Alice's clothes that barely fit me. It was one in the afternoon when we finally found the perfect outfit, and I had to start getting ready for work.

As I was leaving, Alice told me she was going out with her mystery man again, and that she wouldn't be home when Edward picked me up.

Even though I was curious as to who my best friend was seeing, I had given up on asking her who this guy was.

I drove to work thinking about waiting _seven_ more hours until I got to see Edward.

* * *

**So I don't really like the title for this chapter, but I couldn't come up with anything else. And I also had no idea where this chapter was going. I was going to write their date this chapter, but oh well. **

**I'm going to try to update soon. If I don't update between now and Friday, I might not get a chance until next, next weekend, because I'm going to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal with a bunch of my friends this weekend (yay! :D). **

**So until then, thank you for reading!**

**Oh and review please! You know you want to ;)**


	5. Tragedies and Romances

**Hi everyone! I didn't think I would get this out until the weekend, but I made it early :D**

**I had a blast this weekend at HHN. I got the shit scared out of me, but I'm very easily scared :P The least fun part was the standing and waiting in lines. My feet felt like they were on fire by the end of the night.**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chap! You're all awesome.**

**I hope everyone enjoys this chap.**

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns everything Twilight, but she does not own the inappropriate thoughts I have about Edward :)**

* * *

**Tragedies and Romances**

It was 7:57 and I was standing in front of the clock, ready to punch out as soon as it turned 8:00.

I hadn't been focused on work at all, mindlessly checking out the books that were handed to me. All that was on my mind was Edward.

Jasper came into the library again toward the beginning of my shift. I didn't even realize it was him until he started waving his hand in front of my face, calling my name. When I checked out his book he said that he would have stayed with me longer, but he had to be somewhere. After he left, my mind returned to its former stupor.

7:59…

30 seconds…

10 seconds…

6…5…4…3…2…1….

I stuck my card in the time clock, punched out, and ran – well as best I could without falling on my face – to my truck.

When I got home I took a very quick shower to rinse the smell of old books off me. After I dried off, I went over to my bed where I had laid out the clothes I would be wearing.

Alice had found a blue halter dress in the back of my closet that I had completely forgotten about. It was just a casual dress that I had bought a long time ago to go to a promotion party for my dad, Charlie.

Then to top it off she lent me a pair of her Jimmy Choos that were a darker blue. I told her not to lend me the shoes, and I tried to give them back when she shoved them in my hands. But she insisted that I wear them, saying that this date was just as important to her as it was to me – I doubted that – and that she wanted me to look my best. Still, I couldn't believe that she would trust me to not trip and break a heel or something.

When I had all of my clothes and some light makeup on, I looked at the clock on my wall. It was 8:45.

Fifteen minutes. _Okay I can do this._ Now really wasn't the time for my nerves to start acting up.

I went to the kitchen and filled a glass with some water to try and calm myself down.

All the water did was give my empty stomach a sloshing feeling.

I groaned and sat down at the table waiting for it to turn 9.

My eye lids were starting to droop when I heard a soft knock on the door. My head popped up but I stayed where I was. I heard the knock again only louder this time.

I looked at the clock as it was turning 9:01.

I got up as quickly as I dared in Alice's shoes and went to answer the door. I stopped when I was in front of it and took a deep breath, straitening my dress and patting my hair down.

I opened the door, slowly revealing the Greek God standing behind it. The same God I had been fantasizing about for almost a week.

When the door was fully opened he just stood there. He was wearing a light gray button down shirt with his selves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of black jeans. He also had a worn leather jacket that was folded over his arm. My eyes traveled over his toned forearms and all I wanted to do was run my fingers over the smooth muscles.

I must have been staring to long because he cleared his throat to get my attention.

"Hey," he said in that silky voice that I had missed so much.

"Hi," I responded looking up at his face.

His auburn hair had gone completely astray. It looked as if he had been running his fingers through it a lot all day. I looked into his eyes and saw that the now familiar green seemed to be a shade darker.

His gaze went from the top of my head to the tips of my toes and back. I noticed his eyes widen a bit.

"You look beautiful, Bella," he told me.

I felt the blush spreading over my face.

"You're even more stunning when you blush." He walked up to me and lightly ran his fingertips over my sweltering cheek.

I felt my heartbeat accelerate and I could swear it was so loud that he would be able to hear it.

"Shall we go?" He asked.

I nodded and followed him out the door locking it behind me.

We stepped into the elevator and in such close proximity I could smell Edward's intoxicating aroma. He smelled wonderful, like fresh rain and honey mixed together. Sweet but refreshing.

Once we were outside, he led the way to a shiny silver Volvo.

Edward went over to the passenger side and opened the door motioning for me to climb in.

I got in thinking about how unaccustomed I was to such chivalry. Not many people held doors open for another person these days.

He sat down in the driver's seat and drove out of the parking lot.

After a few minutes of quietly staring at the rode he asked how my week had been.

My only reply was, "Too long."

"Mine too," he laughed.

Maybe he had the same problem with waiting.

He turned his head slightly to grin at me and I smiled back.

We were silent after that. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence though, we were just enjoying each other's company, or at least I was.

Another 15 minutes passed until he drove up to the restaurant.

"Benihana?" I queried.

"Yea, have you been here before?"

"No. But I've heard it's a great place."

We walked in and Edward told the hostess he had reservations under 'Cullen'.

She led us to a table near the middle of the room with four other people sitting around a steel grill.

"It's a teppanyaki table. They cook and serve the food at the table," Edward leaned down and whispered in my ear.

After we gave the chef our orders, a waitress put a bowl of Japanese onion soup in front of everyone at the table along with a cup of steaming green tea.

As the chef was preparing the food Edward turned to me and asked me where I was from. _Good an easy question, starting off simple. _

"I was born in Forks, Washington, but moved to Phoenix, Arizona when my parents split up. And that's where I grew up."

"Oh that's cool. I've lived in Olympia most of my life. My family is originally from Chicago, but I was really young when my mom decided she didn't want to live in a big city anymore. Why didn't you stay in Arizona to go to school?"

I looked down at my food. The question had started out easy. I didn't really want to get into my past problems right now, but I answered Edward anyway. "Um, well I actually went back to live in Forks with my dad when I was 17. My mom was in a car accident and she didn't make it. And when it came time to choose a college, I decided to stay close to my dad so that I could still see him sometimes."

"I-I'm sorry. That must have been horrible for you." Edward looked straight into my eyes and I saw honest sympathy in his.

"It's okay. It was a long time ago and I've more or less come to terms with what happened," I gave him a small smile to show him I was okay. I might have been lying a little, but I just didn't want this date to turn into a pity-fest.

He changed the subject. "So, what are you majoring in?"

"Literature. I'm not entirely sure what I want to do though, maybe teach or something," I shrugged. "Alice told me your studying law, what made you want to do that?"

He didn't answer right away, just thinking about the question. "I think it was watching a lot of Law and Order when I was younger. I still watch it sometimes," he chuckled. "It was either that or become a musician, but I only play music as a hobby."

"Oh, what do you play?"

"The piano and some guitar. My mom taught Emmett, Alice and I how to play piano. We had to practice playing if we wanted to eat dinner. That's how our mom made sure we learned. Lucky for me I actually loved playing and when I was 10 or 11, I taught myself how to play guitar. Emmett and Alice aren't so fond of playing music."

Huh, Alice had never told me she knew how to play the piano, or that Edward played. That was a big plus in my book.

"So, literature. You like books, I guess you like working in the library, right?

"Yea I do. I mean, it can get boring sometimes. It's not like I actually get to read the books. I basically sit behind the counter and try not to stare directly into the book scanner's light."

He laughed at that, which made me laugh. _That's good; at least I can make him laugh._

We continued talking throughout dinner, asking each other about random things like high school and our likes and dislikes. He asked what some of my favorite books were and I told him my two favorites were Pride and Prejudice and Wuthering Heights. I was surprised to find out that he like some of the classic too and especially Shakespeare; Hamlet was a favorite of his.

"Oh, so you're really just into the tragedies." I said matter-of-factly.

He smiled. "No, no. I read the love stories too. I like Romeo and Juliet."

"That's also a tragedy."

"Okay, how about A Midsummer Night's Dream? Or Much Ado About Nothing?"

"You can keep naming Shakespeare romances, but you can't convince me that you don't like tragedies better."

After our little book discussion, Edward asked me what my favorite color was. I was immediately embarrassed when I blurted out 'green'. If someone else had asked me that question a week ago I would have said something else, like red maybe. But his eyes were really started to get to me. I just couldn't help but stare into them whenever I got the chance.

I spent most of the date just looking at Edward and studying his face. I wondered what I could have possibly done right to get this man to want to spend time getting to know me. When he caught me looking at him, he just flashed me those brilliant pearly whites and went back to eating his food. Every time he did that I would be momentarily stunned and it would take me a minute to realize what happened.

I felt sadness creep up on me when the check for our dinner came. The night had just been so great; I didn't want it to end. I didn't want to have to go home and start a new day without Edward.

As we were walking out of the restaurant into the parking lot I heard a nasally voice call out Edward's name.

We both looked up at the sound and Edward's eyes widened in horror as he took in the tall blond woman standing a few feet in front us.

My pulse quickened and I felt sick to my stomach as I watched my nightmare unfold in front of me.

"Tanya, what are you doing here?" Edward asked her with an accusing voice that made me relax a little, though not nearly enough.

"What, I can't have a nice dinner with my boyfriend? Oh this is Demetri," she gestured to the thick browed man whose arm she was hanging on to. "Demetri this is Edward. Who's your friend Edward?" She smiled at me, which looked more like sneering.

"Um, this is my…" he hesitated and looked down at me. "Bella."

She didn't say anything else, just continuing to sneer at me.

"Well we'll just let you get to your dinner then," Edward said while wrapping his arm around my waist and quickly guiding me to his Volvo.

As we walked past the whore bag and her pimp, she said, "It was nice to see you again Edward."

Edward didn't look back at her or reply. He just kept walking.

At least he didn't want to spend any more time around her, I thought he might've wanted to stay and talk with her which would have just made my night.

When we got to the car Edward opened my door for me and ushered me inside. He closed the door and I had barley turned to put my seatbelt on when he was in the car starting the engine and speeding off into the night.

It was just after 11:30 and I really did not want the night to end, especially on this note.

Edward's jubilant mood from before seemed to be long gone. So was mine.

He spoke then, "Do you have be home?"

"No."

"Good."

After about five more minutes of zooming through the empty streets, he pulled over into a small deserted parking lot overlooking Lake Union.

He parked in front of a long boardwalk and got out of the car.

It took me a second to catch on. I opened my door and followed him down the boardwalk.

When I caught up and was walking next to him he noticed me shiver from the cold and stopped to take off his jacket and offer it to me. I smiled up at him and gratefully put the jacket on.

I wrapped it around my body and sniffed the collar, then taking a deeper breathe I hoped he wouldn't notice. I loved that his honey-rain scent was surrounding me.

We walked to the end and looked out over the lake.

"I'm sorry," Edward said.

My eyebrows furrowed, "For what?"

"For Tanya. I'm sorry to put you through that. I'm sorry for ruining the perfect night."

My breathe caught and I smiled slightly to myself. It really was the perfect night until _she _showed up.

"Edward, stop apologizing. It's not your fault," I tried to sooth him. "You didn't know that she would be there. And besides, I'm fine, I'm just sorry that she upset you so much."

He looked down at me then.

"No, I just…. I haven't seen her in two years. I thought that I was finally rid of her. I just hate her so much," he said in more of a sorrowful than menacing way, which is what you'd expect.

"I know…." I didn't mean to say that, it just came out.

This time his eyebrows furrowed.

"What do you mean?"

"Um," I swallowed. "Alice told me about you and Tanya. Don't be mad at Alice, she was just trying to help."

He looked back at the water.

"I'm not mad," he said softly, "I'm actually relieved that Alice told you. I knew that if I wanted to pursue you, I would have to tell you about her eventually. Now you already know."

Edward looked back at me and smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He was still troubled.

He was leaning his arms on the railing and I scooted closer to him and put my arm through his. He tensed a little and I worried that I had done something wrong, but then he relaxed and slipped his hand into mine, twining our fingers together.

Then he lifted my hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. I think my heart skipped a beat and I felt my cheeks heat up.

He lowered our hands again and stared out at the lake.

It took me a minute to float back down to earth and I also looked to the water, although I didn't really see it.

"She really did make me a mess," he started. "I thought I loved her, but after we broke up, I realized that it was just the excitement of my first real relationship. She means nothing to me now and the thought of her leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

I didn't know how to respond. I had never been in love or anywhere near love. But I did feel empathy for him and I wanted to make him feel better. I just didn't know how right now.

"I really did have a great time with you tonight," he said turning his deep emerald eyes to my chocolate ones. "I hope that the way the night ended doesn't keep you from seeing me again."

"It's not over yet," I told him quietly.

"No it's not." He looked at my face and into my eyes for a few more seconds before his tongue peeked out to wet his lips. Edward slowly lowered his head to mine and kissed me softly. If my heart skipped one beat when he kissed my hand, it must have completely shut down now. But if it did, I didn't even notice. I don't think I have ever felt as wonderful as when my lips were connected with his. I closed my eyes and saw fireworks behind my lids. He moved his mouth over mine so smoothly, his scent filling my head.

He pulled back suddenly and whispered, "I'm sorry. I – "

"You apologize way too much," I cut him off.

I closed the distance he'd made between us and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling his face to mine, and kissed him hard. I didn't know where my confidence had come from; I was just so captivated by him. He seemed caught off guard for a fraction of a second before wrapping his arms around my waist, lifting me so he wouldn't have to bend down and kissing me back with fierce passion.

I couldn't want anything more in that moment than to keep my lips on his under the starry night for the rest of eternity.

* * *

**I definitely think the date could have been better, but this is what I came up with :/ **

**Originally Tanya was never going to show up. I didn't think the ending of this chap was good enough and then I had the idea of them running into Tanya and Bella comforting Edward, which I thought was a better ending then just a kiss and 'goodnight'. But I didn't intend for Bella's dream to foreshadow anything when I wrote it.**

**Also I really like the title because I see it as Edward and Tanya's tragedy, or really just Edward's tragedy, and Edward and Bella's romance. And right now I feel like changing the whole story title to 'Tragedies and Romances' but I'm not going to.**

**Thank you for reading :D**

**COUGHreviewCOUGH**


End file.
